


Keeping Faith

by theunsweetenedtruth



Category: Greenleaf (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-21
Updated: 2019-01-21
Packaged: 2019-10-14 01:30:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17499089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theunsweetenedtruth/pseuds/theunsweetenedtruth
Summary: Faith is an award winning singer and songwriter bound by the pressures of her family and manager, Mac. When she returns home after a whirlwind tour, she is sucked into the manipulations and falls deeper into her own dark habits.





	Keeping Faith

**Author's Note:**

> I am so proud of this story. It is EXTREMELY dark and not for the faint of heart but I'm exploring this new way of writing. This is a combination of Greenleaf the TV series and Beyond the Lights, and I stole Sam Wilson from Marvel because I love a black king and he needs more love. I really hope you enjoy this. Please leave me a review with any feedback.

She was bent over the toilet- _again_. Vomit came from her and as she heaved, a random thought came to her: _what could I possibly be throwing up if I haven’t eaten anything?_ She continued to gag for a few moments more, nothing coming out at this point but rage and self-depreciation and she felt lost under a current of self-loathing. She was to be blamed for her predicament.

           Soon, the heaving subsided and she was able to stand to her feet, flush and go to the sink. Dark, sunken eyes stared back at her from the mirror. She didn’t look in the mirror too often, afraid of what she’d become and seeing the physical manifestation of it. Moving from her eyes, she realized her lip was busted and bruises littered around her neck and chest. They would have to pack on the makeup tonight to cover them up.

           She took a towel from underneath the cabinet—stark white like the rest of the room—wet it, and began tending to the bleeding lip. There was a slight sting but she didn’t wince; this was nothing compared to what she’d been through the past years, or the past hour. There was a knock on the bathroom door that echoed through the cavernous room and startled her. Her hands began to shake, her pulse raced, and she struggled to get words out.

           “Yes?” she managed to croak out after a few moments.

           “It’s hair and makeup,” the voice of her hairstylist came through the door. “Mac said you weren’t feeling that well, honey. Do you need to cancel the show?”

           “No!” bubbled its way out of her throat, too loud in the room. She couldn’t afford to cancel the show and risk more of his wrath. Plus she didn’t want to disappoint the fans; it was sold out show that couldn’t be rescheduled so late in the day. She had to push through. “I’ll be out in a second.”

           She heard shuffling away from the door and went back to getting the blood off of her lip. There wasn’t much she could do.

           After brushing her teeth and splashing cold water on her face, she emerged from the bathroom into the suite. Curlers and straighteners were already heating up and [Ashley](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fthevulcansalute&t=M2ZkZDJhZmM3MWJlNWQ0MjBlMWE2NDA1YjYwNGNkY2U4YTJiZTBjNCw3ODhjYjZjNzMzMWU2OWRlODE4M2RlZjEwYmMzMGYyZDRhYzIzNjcz), her makeup artist, was setting out tools and product on the desk. [Papi](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fpreviews.123rf.com%2Fimages%2Fcreatista%2Fcreatista1212%2Fcreatista121200024%2F16680523-smiling-latino-male-hair-stylist-working-with-customer.jpg&t=YzhkYWE4YTc4YTJjYTc1MTI2YjVkNmM2YTMxMzJlZWY0MDRkNmNjNyw1MmFlNDUxM2EyYjdkNDcyMDlhZjNiOGFkNGFjMzM1MDBlNWQ3OTA2) looked up from his phone when the door opened. Seeing her standing there, looking worse for wear, he let out an audible gasp.

           “Faith, oh my God—“ She cut him off to sit in the director’s chair set up in the middle of the room.

           “Stop. Let’s just get started.” There was hesitation from Papi and Ashley and she could tell they wanted to say more. “Please.” She didn’t want to talk about it; she’d heard it before.

           Once her makeup and hair had been completed, her [pink](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.co.uk%2Fpin%2F526710118910808410%2F&t=NDBkOWE4ZDgzM2I1YjhhZDMzMjllZjI4YmZlY2NlNWEzMWY2YWRkOSwyZmYxNDQxMjlmNDBmMjA2NzNkZjNmYjc4M2QzNDUwZTVlMTZmNTM4) extensions curled and brushed out and her face flawless once again, it was time for the outfit. Taking off her clothes in front of them showed that the bruises extended across her body, down her arms and stomach and hips. Papi huffed under his breath, curses in Spanish that Faith could barely catch. She got the gist. Ashley immediately got to work covering up the anger, as she had done so many times before, while Papi helped her get dressed.

           She could feel the numbness slipping away and her throat burned with the effort not to scream and cry. She couldn’t keep letting it happen, she had to be stronger, she had to tell someone, she would go out on stage and—

           The door to the suite opened and Mac walked in, his hulking figure immediately caused her to physically and mentally shrink in on her. “Give us the room,” he said not a question but a demand that Ashley was quick to comply with. Papi was slower to move, finishing up the last button on her [leotard](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.ttcdn.co%2Fmedia%2Fproducts%2F649794-266579b29e654cc1a81acfd5177b6b74%2Fellaj8950%2Fbeyonce-inspired-silver-rhinestone-leotard-0.jpeg&t=MTUyYjEwNTAzNTY2N2NkMzg3MzJiNTVhYThmYTViZmE2M2JhODE1NSxkYmU1NDZlOWY4YTM4YWJlZTU0NDY0Njg0YTY4YWRiZWE1YzQxMmNk) before slowly exiting the room. Once the door clicked shut, they stared at each other. She knew he wouldn’t do anything now—at most they had twenty minutes till show time, hair and makeup taking longer because of the need to cover up his earlier damage.

           “I’m sorry about earlier,” he said, finally breaking the silence. “You know I don’t mean it but you just—“ his fists clenched and he broke off before he could lose his temper again. She wasn’t moved by his apology; she’d learned his habits. She noticed how he never said it wouldn’t happen again anymore. Because it wasn’t the first time it had happened and whenever she got the courage to fight back, he would do his best to break that spirit and it would absolutely happen again.

           “I got you something,” he said in the wake of her silence, pulling out a rectangular box and extending it towards her. As much as she didn’t want to, she had to move closer to reach it. She opened it and nestled in black velvet was a microphone covered in Swarovski crystals.

           “It’s beautiful, she said. She’d always wanted one like it. Her fingers hovered over it, knowing exactly what it cost for her to have it.

           “It’s yours,” he smiled. “You’ve been working so hard on this tour and I know I’ve been… _difficult_ at times.” He tapped the lid of the box. “You deserve this.”

            _You deserve this._ It was something he’d said before but never in this connotation. Knowing what he wanted to hear she replied, “Thank you Mac,” and set the box and its contents to the side. She moved to the mirror to evaluate her appearance, putting a little distance between herself and Mac.

           “I have something else for you…”She looked at him through the mirror. He held up a baggie filled with the purest of white snow. There was a lot to be said about Mac but he knew exactly what she needed to put their earlier encounter out of her head and give the fans what they paid for.

           As he went through the process of creating lines on the coffee table for her,—he never partook—Faith had another thought.

            _I should tell someone._

           “You ready?” Mac handed her a rolled up one hundred-dollar bill and she took it, ready to dive in.

           Backstage, ten minutes later, Faith was all smiles to backup dancers and the band while Mac led them in prayer. Once the prayer was over, she stepped on the platform that would take her to the middle of the stage. Fans were chanting her name already—they knew she was coming because of the dimmed lights.

           The first song started to play and the dancers filed out in formation, ready. Faith took a deep breath and stepped out into the spotlight.

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a review :) You can find me on Tumblr at theunsweetenedtruth and look at character images and descriptions.


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